DA-- Moore death a suicide

A soon-to-be-published report by the Middlesex County District
Attorney's office classifies the July 4 death of David G. Moore '91 as a
suicide.

According to Tom Samaluk, a spokesman for the district attorney's office,
the findings were based on an "autopsy and investigation conducted by the
State Police."

"Barring any extraordinary new evidence," he added, "the investigation
has been concluded."

This is the first time that anyone has brought up the possibility of
suicide. Soon after the incident, Associate Dean for Student Affairs Robert
M. Randolph said it was not a suicide. The county coroner agreed with this
sentiment, calling Moore's death an accident.

On Monday, a spokesman for the county medical examiner's office said that
Moore, who fell from a fifth-story balcony in Senior House, died from
"multiple injuries." Samaluk explained that the medical examiner only
determined the cause of death, whereas the district attorney investigated
the surrounding circumstances.

Campus Police Chief Anne P. Glavin declined comment, saying, "We haven't
heard anything from the medical examiner's office." She said the medical
examiner might have come to a preliminary conclusion, but that a full
report was still pending. "The key thing is the release of the medical
examiner's report," she added.

The Campus Police has been asking the medical examiner for a report every
week, she added. "When we officially get the report, we'll see what
direction the investigation takes," Glavin said.

Both the district attorney's office and the medical examiner are awaiting
a toxicology report, which will indicate if there were any drugs in Moore's
body at the time of his death. Samaluk explained that such reports
"typically take many weeks."

Such a report would prove or disprove reports that Moore died while he
was under the influence of LSD. While officials have declined comment on
the subject, some individuals have said that he almost certainly took LSD
before falling from the balcony.

It is unclear just what impact the district attorney's report will have
on the investigation. Samaluk said that "for all intents and purposes, it's
completed," implying that there is little left to uncover. Glavin, however,
did not see much importance in the report, saying that "it sounds like the
DA's opinion."